Gardening can heal people

Whether it is in or outside of the greenhouse, gardening has "profound" healing capabilities, according to an expert.

Monty Don presented Gardeners World on the BBC and is now president of the Soil Association. He recently wrote about his experiences for the Telegraph.

Although he hated it until he was 14, by 17 he was growing all of his vegetables at home.

But Don finds gardening a type of therapy, saying it has helped him deal with depression for most of his life.

"If you give time and energy to the soil, you get good food back," the expert added. "The garden has healing properties."

He urged readers to start growing their own food and share with the community to create independence.

"Its about a state of mind, a mental freedom."

Recently, the Soil Association responded to the Food Standards Agencys review on organic produce.

It said it was "disappointed" in the results, many of which suggested that there was no important difference between organics and non-organics.